February 8, 2010

Hey Stranger, Gotta Match?

Less than one week ago, I recognized that ingenuousness in the face of Jennifer Jones Austin, a highly accomplished and compassionate New York City attorney, wife, and mother of two who has spent the last 20 years advocating for disenfranchised children and families.

Although her life biography is filled with achievements and accolades, as of four months ago, 41 year old Austin faces the harsh reality that a diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) requires a bone marrow transplant.

In short, unless a donor steps forward in the next several months, Jennifer’s chances of survival greatly diminish.

Because a transplant may only occur between parties matching genetic tissue, it requires a donor who is of African descent. Unfortunately, since this group is dramatically underrepresented within national and international bone marrow registries, Jennifer’s challenge is magnified.

In spite of massive support and numerous bone marrow drives organized in the New York City area, none have succeeded in producing a match.

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